Lenoir, (Jean Joseph) Etienne (1822-1900)

Belgian-born French engineer and inventor who in the early 1860s produced the first practical internal-combustion engine and a car powered by it. He also developed a white enamel in 1847, an electric brake in 1853, and an automatic telegraph in 1865.

Lenoir was born in Mussy-la-Ville.

Several people had claimed to have invented an internal-combustion engine, but not until Lenoir in 1859 did a practical model become a reality. His engine consisted of a single cylinder with a storage battery (accumulator) for the electric ignition system. Its two-stroke cycle was provided by slide valves, and it was fuelled by coal gas.

Lenoir built a small car around one of his prototypes in 1863, but it had an efficiency of less than 4% and although he claimed it was silent, this was only true when the vehicle was not under load.

The real value of his engine was for powering small items of machinery, and by 1865 more than 400 were in use, driving printing presses, lathes, and water pumps. Its use for vehicles was restricted by its size.